Six Inch Tall Tree - Plant scientists at Oregon State University have shown they can control Poplar tree height by genetic manipulation. By inserting genes from a small weed (Arabidopsis) into Poplar trees, they produced trees ranging in height from a few inches to up to 50 feet after several years’ growth. The Arabidopsis genes used in the study are part of an evolutionarily conserved pathway controlling plant height. This work may have applications for generating horticultural varieties of ornamental trees or for customizing trees for given environments - neighborhoods with low hanging power lines, for example. A major hurtle for commercialization of this work lies in getting funding to achieve approval for genetically modified organisms. This work is published in the current issue of Landscape Plant News, and earlier studies in genetically modifying Poplar trees to control tree height can be found in Plant Physiology (2003).

News Briefs

Agriculture
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Ecology
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Genetically Modified Foods
Banned Chinese GM Rice Protein Found In Dutch Shipment To Cyprus

Climate Change
Northern forests less effective than tropical forests in reducing global warming

Alternative Fuels
Senate Committee Proposal Important First Step To Commercialize Cellulosic Ethanol
Engineers Develop Higher-Energy Liquid-Transportation Fuel From Sugar
Turning Whole Plants into Fuel in Four Simple Steps
Fruit could make ‘powerful fuel’